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Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch was in a jovial mood during the usually combative PMQs by calling for all MPs to unite behind England against Argentina this evening.
Badenoch said that while Keir Starmer may be “disappointed that he won’t be emulating his hero Harold Wilson in winning multiple elections … we all hope that he may be about to emulate him in another way, by being the prime minister when England win the World Cup.” England’s only previous success came in 1966.
The Tory leader said that was something “every single one of us in this house should get behind, especially the SNP.” But the diminished rump of Scottish independence-supporting MPs, possibly still bruised from going out in the World Cup group stage, shook their heads.
Indeed, opposition to England’s success crossed party lines.
Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman told Blue Light News he’ll be watching “from behind the couch and the cracks in our fingers,” adding it will be “unbearable” if England makes the final.
LONDON — Soccer fans in Atlanta may be exchanging chants about the Falklands — but there’s another British Overseas Territory making news today.
The 118-year-old border between Gibraltar and Spain will disappear on Wednesday. You can thank Brexit.
Today is the culmination of a decade of uncertainty for the British Mediterranean territory, which back in 2016 voted by 95.9 percent to stay in the EU — but was pulled out against its will.
Life immediately became harder for the thousands of people who cross the Gibraltar-Spain border every day, including 15,000 Spaniards who go to work in the territory.
Passport checks became more onerous and transporting goods became more complicated. As a result Brussels, London, Gibraltar and Madrid have spent the last 10 years negotiating an agreement to remove physical border controls from the frontier with Spain.
It’s an ironic move given it was triggered by Britain’s decision to leave the EU. While Gibraltar will remain fully British and sovereign, the border will become, for the most part, just a line on a map.
The agreement’s details will be familiar to anyone who has ever taken a Eurostar train under the English Channel. As at London St Pancras station, passengers arriving at Gibraltar’s airport will go through both Gibraltarian passport controls and EU passport controls in succession. Once through, they’ll be free to roam both Gibraltar and the Schengen area, provided they get the approval of both authorities.
As a result, Gibraltar and Spain will do away with border controls at the land border. Gibraltar will also align with various EU single market and customs rules to ease the flow of goods, which have sometimes become harder to source since Brexit.
Gibraltar is adamant it isn’t joining the EU passport-free Schengen area. Legally, it is right.
For many passengers, though, it will feel pretty similar, with no passport checks to walk into Spain. The difference will be that Gibraltar will still set its own visa policy.
The U.K’s Europe Minister Stephen Doughty is formally signing the agreement Tuesday in Brussels with the EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič.
The deal was a bipartisan effort on the British side, with former Foreign Secretary David Cameron working to get it over the line during his time in office. In spring 2024 the deal looked close to being done — only for Rishi Sunak to call an election. The resulting change in government delayed it by another year.
Some critics, notably Tory Euroskeptics, have said the agreement harms Gibraltar’s sovereignty, but the Rock’s government is very keen on the plan.
“Brexit was sold to the British people in a false prospectus,” Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the Telegraph newspaper in the run-up to the dismantling of the border. “The United Kingdom needs to seriously reconsider its relationship with the European Union, whether that is to return to membership or a much closer relationship.”
England’s king-in-waiting, Prince William, certainly hopes football will be coming home.
It is no secret that the Prince of Wales is a big soccer fan. He served as president of England’s Football Association from 2006 to 2024 and is a longtime Aston Villa supporter, having followed the Birmingham club since his schooldays.
Despite his passion for the sport, Kensington Palace confirmed to Blue Light News that “the Prince of Wales will only attend the World Cup if England make it to the final.” A royal aide said he will likely watch tonight’s semifinal with his family.
His younger brother Harry, who has traditionally shown more interest in rugby than soccer, will not attend any World Cup matches in person, even though he has lived in the U.S. since relocating there with his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020.
According to Harry’s spokesperson, he has commitments elsewhere in the country on either side of the World Cup final, preventing him from attending, should England reach the showpiece game.
While the British royals cheer England on away from public view tonight, another European royal family with skin in the game will be supporting their opponents: Argentina.
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, who married the future King Willem-Alexander in 2002, was born in Argentina. Speaking on the podcast “Through the Eyes of the King” in 2023, Willem-Alexander revealed that before their marriage, the couple agreed they would both support the Netherlands whenever the Dutch played Argentina.
In return, he said, “I did stipulate that if Argentina were playing and it wasn’t against the Netherlands, then I would always cheer for Argentina.”
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